December 16, 2012

I drove up that morning alone. My first time at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park. My wounder and my sense of adventure on fire. I wandered as the sun rose higher, looking for a way to convey what I was seeing. The vast starkness of Mammoth is deceptively complex and easier to hike than to show on a the two dimensional image. It’s steam clouds and flowing mud made me wounder what it would feel like under my bare feet. But of course I stayed on the path, wondering at it’s starkness and looking for something in the glaring light to convey it’s unique beauty.

I made this image in 2010, over two years before I finished it. It spoke loudly and I knew it was what I needed – But not being quite as experienced at then pre-visualizing a scene, I suppose had to wait for my skill in the finished image to catch up. I just kept coming back. Considering how it should best be presented.

These days I generally plan an image in fine detail before I release the shutter. Visualizing works and once mastered it changes how you see. But that another story. Check out my EXposed workshop.

In the end, this gentle platinum showing the stoic drama of this barren copse of trees, still standing proud on it’s steaming mud flow. It was what I needed. This is their story. Finally finished.

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September 11, 2012

Folio-Resting-Place2

Resting Place – Dry Creek, Oregon, 2012 by Gavin Seim – PPA 2013 Loan Collection.

The forests of the Pacific Northwest are almost primeval in beauty. Tinkling water and gently blowing ferns make an almost unrivaled tranquility. A scene so stunning that in a story, it would be require a giant beast or a sinister wizard to balance the scales. But the tranquility is real and there are no monsters lurking in the shadows. At least, not today.

Forest light is like seasoning on a platter of summer vegetables. It tickles the palette and pleases the senses, but only if used in the right proportions. That happened here. We camped down in the forest and I started early in the morning, having scouted this Dry Creek Oregon location the day before with Nathan, as we filmed for the EXposed Workshop. In truth I did not realize how breathtaking it was until I stood there the following morning. I made my images and then wandered up to the waterfall just a few hundred yards upstream, poking around and peacefully musing about the forest light. I like to muse.

Awhile later I was about to leave when I saw the light. It was beautiful before, but suddenly the sun moved to just the right position when the radiance glimmered and danced through the foliage. Not to harsh, as often happens from high sun over a forest. Just that perfect glow. I quickly setup again and made this image, thankful that I had not rushed away to breakfast, or assumed that the first light was the best I could get. The reward for my patience was Resting Place. Perhaps the best pictorial I have ever made, and certainly one I’m very proud of.

Resting Place – Dry Creek, Oregon.

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August 25, 2012

Survivors – Gavin Seim, 2012. Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Washington State.

Oddly it was the first time I had been to St. Helens. A remote park and does not get as much attention as it deserves. My brother and I spent a few days up there filming for my EXposed light workshop and of course, hunting for landscapes.

This place astounds my eyes. Not for it’s serene perfection. But for it’s lack of it. A forest picked up, as by God himself and scattered across the landscape like toothpicks. Some areas have no trees standing. Others have new growth coming back with vigor. And here, the skeletons of the past still stand proud, having survived May 18, 1980, when Mount St. Helens erupted and blew down or scorched 230 square miles of forest.

There are many remarkable stories from that day. And if you live in the Pacific Northwest you may know some of the people that experienced them. But to me these trees still standing, are a reminder and the awesome power in creation and of the valiant effort to stand your ground. They will make a beautiful print… Gavin

Release details: Prints Available.. Order Open Edition originals.. Master prints and Signature Limited Editions are listed below and can be ordered by contacting gallery.

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August 10, 2012

Here’s a quick video from the night of mt recent gallery opening after things quieted down. We had a great turnout and a good time. Just a peek inside my studio/gallery and a look at some of the new work. Gav

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